Images of Pain and Valor
by MissJinny
Summary: Complete:: Piccolo is taken by the Eliokon Empire (oc) and helps a sect of struggling prisoners by protecting the one that holds their hope. Twist Figured I may as well just finish the damned thing already. )
1. Beginning is the End is the Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any affiliate characters. However I do own Jaunie and Nate. And the idea of the Eliokon ( even though I never really describe who they are or what they look like =) A/N: It is AU. This story isn't meant to be romance per se but it sort of twists in that direction without any real romantic things being brought to light. It has a blunt ending that could lead to later chapters but I liked the way it closed leaving it to the imagination. "." spoken words _._ are thoughts or otherwise emphasized words ~*~ are shifts in perspective. Only a couple three that switch from place to place the main story takes place aboard the Eliokon Ship.  
  
"And what did you have to do for that?" The guard sneered, making suggestive movements with his hands. The woman he ogled frowned deeply before burying her fist to the wrist in the man's soft stomach. Gurgling, the guard held his bruising gut and slowly unlocked the cell door.  
She stepped in, grimacing at the stench of rot that fed through the ventilation grate. Clutched in her hand was a bottle of scented oil. She had told the lead guardsman it was a gift for her fifth year in this hole and he only looked at her queerly before shoving her through the heavy gates. Now after hearing the squealing protest of her locks' tumblers falling into place did she carefully open the bottle and dip her finder to the first knuckle into the warm liquid. Her fingertip tingled as she spread a thin layer of it around the cuff on her right wrist. There was no possible way for it to slide over her hand, but she could feel some of her old energy slipping back into her body like a trickle of cold water.  
Satisfied, she capped the bottle and hid it behind a loose stone along the base of the wall. Inside the small space also sat a pack of half empty matches, a small carving knife and a dog-eared photograph. Slipping the stone back in to the hole she stretched her tired muscles and lay across a hard bunk.  
  
Morning came too early and she was thrown into the corner of her cell for a surprise inspection. Standing with her hands out, a guard slid a retracting cord across them and tightened it until her skin nearly split. Three of them in all spread the menial contents of the cell across its four foot by eight-foot entirety. As a grand finally the largest of them tore the shapeless mattress neatly in two and shook the contents out until he held two rumpled and tattered looking sacks in each fist.  
A skinny man with rows of yellowed teeth and black gums grabbed her by the throat and shook her until her head spun. "Where is it?" He growled next to her ear, sending the stench of his hot breath across her face. When she didn't answer he raised his arm and sent a stumbling blow to her jaw. They pulled her onto her feet by the wrists. "I know you stole it you bitch. Now what did you do with it?" He raised his arms for another blow when a wad of phlegm splattered his face. Shaking with rage he wiped his face with the back of his arm before a maniacal grin spread across his scarred face. "Take this down," he threw a clipboard at the nearest guard, "Negative 00359, refusal to aid an officer, assault on said officer, and thievery against the Eliokon Empire." He pinned her by the neck against the wall, their faces so close she could see the blackheads that burrowed in his face. "Hear that? You're going to beg me beat you once you get your punishment for this. And once I find out where or who you gave that bottle too I guarantee you'll wish you were never spawned."  
With a jerk he heaved the guards from his path and stormed from the room. The door slammed shut with a hollow bang and # -00359 slid to the floor with a strangled sigh as she rubbed at the puffy bruise that was growing steadily along her jaw. Sliding the stone to the left far enough for her fingers to close on the picture held inside she brought it to her lips and set it back inside, quietly replacing the stone again. She began to stuff the wads of cloth and padding back into her mattress, feeling the heat of anger burn on her cheeks and tears pick at her eyes.  
  
~*~Elsewhere~*~  
  
Piccolo roamed across New Namek at his leisure. He had only been here once to defeat Meta Cooler but left again just as quickly as he had come. He had sorely missed being among his people, though he never real knew his remorse was of homesickness. Though he had never grown up on Namek had a strong desire to be with his own kind and gotten him a granted wish from the dragonballs (much to Dende's surprise) and the second asked was that none of the others realized he was gone for no less than a year or unless he had decided to return. He loved them all in his own way, but now felt like a time to be with himself and reconnect with home.  
Now walking across the blue-green grass he breathed deeply of the clean air and could nearly taste the water he could hear three miles away. Serenity he had to work to gain on earth surrounded him here on Namek and he would have wept in joy and rapture were he not so proud.  
Piccolo flew to the body of water and floated above its surface. He looked up at the sky laden with stars in constellations that were so different from Earth's but eerily the same. Earth itself winked at him from its massive distance and he felt a bite of regret at not telling the others where he was going. How would he know if something attacked earth? He supposed it wouldn't make a grand difference with the two sayajin and their brood of half lings. His strength had increased steadily for years and he could still feel it grow with the passage of time and training but not the exponential way that the sayajin did.  
Closing his eyes and breathing deeply of the rich air he smiled lightly, it seemed there was nothing that could ruin the beauty he was enveloped in.but then again even the best laid plans get ruined. 


	2. 00359 and 01009A

~*~Back on the flying Prison of the Eliokon Empire~*~  
#-00359 stumbled into her cell and collapsed in its entrance. The guard behind the door pushed her inside with his foot and laughed at her while he locked the door and walked away. Getting wearily to her hands and knees she could see white fluff strewn around her room. They had torn through her things again. Slyly she looked behind her at the stone, it was still set solidly into the wall. Getting slowly to her feet she wavered a little but managed to gather most of the fluff and jam it painfully back into the sack and fall on top of it just as the lights to the room were cut.  
A shattering scream of metal on metal jerked her awake with a throbbing head and jaw for company. Just as she was about to climb from the bed to look out the barred window her door flew open and a guard carrying what looked like a very, very sick man over one shoulder was hoisted off and thrown onto her floor.  
The guard grinned ferally at her but backed out of the doorway after kicking the heap at his feet. "Company for you, treat him nice he likes to bite." As he left with a growl she saw several puncture marks along the side of the guards face and neck. Cautiously she crawled over to the man on the floor and rolled him none too gently onto his back. A premature shock settled into acceptance when she realized his green pallor was not because of an illness, but because he was a different species all together.  
The alien moaned and #-00359 backed up until she bumped into the bed. She watched carefully as the alien sat slowly up and rubbed at the base of his antennae. She openly took in his profile and admired his stark alien beauty, it had been a very long time since she had seen anything other than the disgusting guards or the broken spirits and bleeding faces of her fellow prisoners. To see someone with a harsh radiating spirit as well as the lines of striking bone-work was something she could appreciate. Realizing that she had been holding her breath, she took one shaky breath in but held it again when the alien turned his head sharply toward her.  
He regarded her with close nearly violent scrutiny, the lines of his face relaxed only marginally but his eyes had lost an aggressive glint. Letting out her breath he looked slowly around the room, taking in what little there was to see. When he faced her again, she suddenly felt sorry for him. The room was cramped and small enough with just her small frame, but she was sure if he stretched onto the floor in his entirety his shoulders would nearly cover the width and his height the length of the dirty room.  
" I hope you aren't claustrophobic." She managed a grin but the stiff bruising along the side of her face turned it into a grimace. He regarded her again, and she could see him begin to power up. "Wait!" She cried, but too late. The chi cuff clamped tightly around his thick wrist sparked and a sickly glow covered his body. She resisted the urge to shrink away as he began to convulse but instead held his head in her lap and leaned onto his bulk with her weight to try to settle some the more severe spasms. When the twitching had passed he groaned and panted hard for nearly ten minutes until one of his eyes peeked open.  
"What the fuck.was that?" His deep gravely voice was hoarse and quiet, a light purple tint across his cheeks. He tried to sit up but only managed to lift his shoulders off of the ground before he fell back into her lap again.  
"That would be the chi ring strapped to your wrist. The more power you surge the more it surges back. It sucks I know." She tapped her own wrist and carefully slid her legs from under his head and scooted to his side to look at the chi-dampening bracelet. Stamped deeply into the metal were the set of numbers 01009 along with the letter 'A' in red. She looked up at him in awe before helping him to sit. He slid back until his back touched the wall where he could lean comfortably.  
They sat in silence for quite some time, the alien brooding over what had become of him, and her of the level of his strength. Finally he raised his head and frowned deeply. She averted her gaze, not able to look at him while he was staring so intently. She suddenly felt horribly self- conscious, she hadn't had a decent haircut in six years, only hacking it off in short shaggy chunks with her carving knife when it grew long enough to get in the way. She knew she was filthy, all of the prisoners were hosed down once every twelve days or so with a pesticide and soap concoction made to keep the disease and pestilence at a minimum. And the twelfth day was three days away, which meant she had been sweating and crawling in filth for nearly a week and a half.  
"Where am I?" He cleared his throat and tried to stretch his crinkly muscles in the small space.  
"On a prison space shuttle. You've been picked up because you were marked as a possible threat to the Eliokon Empire. You were given a letter, so it means you were marked because of your strength." She shrugged and tried not to look directly at him.  
He eyed her oddly for a moment before asking, "Then why are you here?"  
She shrugged but a hard glint shone in her eyes and her face stiffened. "Not for my strength."  
"Who are you?" He leaned forward and grimaced at the pain in his back. His mouth tasted awful too, like he had been chewing on sweaty leather.  
"I don't like to get so attached to know names of others." Her face got a dreamy look for a moment but came back sharply into focus. "It's Jaunie, but everyone calls me Negate.I'm one of few negatives here. I don't know what the negatives mean, but there are about fifty prisoners for every one negative."  
He frowned and rubbed an antenna for a moment before wincing. Negate could see a purple bruise forming around its base. "I've been here five years and I've never seen anyone like you before." Negate tried to make it sound like a statement more than a question, but the alien on the floor grunted, looking almost hurt by the comment.  
"I'm a Namek." He turned slightly away, not achieving much in the confined space. Negate felt guilty and awkward in the ensuing silence, but after the lights were cut exhaustion gripped her body again and she fell into a deep slumber. 


	3. Meet your Keeper

Piccolo tried to rest in the small space but he was never one for confined quarters. That was why he enjoyed staying more to the waterfall on Earth than on the lookout where Dende had asked him several times to live. Now the room he had been offered looked like a cavern compared to this hole. The woman had been sleeping restlessly for nearly twenty minutes now, Piccolo didn't like the look of what appeared to be a deep bruise underneath the filth that covered her. Oddly enough, the room hadn't reeked of sweat or filth, only the rot he had traced to the vents above his head.  
Kami but his head throbbed. The little incident from earlier had left him feeling drained but he didn't dare sleep until he knew what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. He hated being coddled after he had collapsed, he hadn't needed the woman's help, what had she call herself? Negate? That's what it was. At least she had feared him enough to leave him be, or was at least smart enough at any rate.  
What irked Piccolo the most was that he didn't really remember what the hell had happened. One moment he was gazing up at the foreign stars of New Namek, the next he was seeing them after a sharp blow to the head. He did remember waking up in some room where they had clamped the ring to his wrist, he hadn't powered up then, all of the chi levels around him were so weak that he could have broken them with a flick of his wrist. When he tried to move though, his body was slow to react and they had laughed at him as he struggled to stand. Lunging at the closest one he stumbled and was caught in the filthy man's arms to a chorus of "He likes you!" and "He wants to dance." Growling, Piccolo had done the only thing he really could have with his drugged body and bit the hell out him. The man had screamed like a woman long after they had drug him away and thrown him onto the floor. A cattle prod had been pulled from somewhere and a burning sting had knocked him unconscious.  
Negate mumbled in her sleep and gave a violent lurch before sitting up fully awake. A light blush spread under the dirt on her face when she fell back onto the bed with a deep sigh. A loud banging came from down the hall and she groaned. The door flung open and five men entered, one a sickly skinny guard with a greasy face sneered when he saw the woman sprawled across the bed. She stood on fatigued legs and held her hands out to the nearest guard who wrapped them in cord and threw her into one wall. Piccolo leapt to his feet, growling as the world swayed under his feet for a moment. Three of the men hauled him into a wall and pinned him there. The skinny man nodded at the men before turning back to the woman who was being pulled to her feet by the guard who had lassoed her. He growled out something to her that Piccolo couldn't hear for the ringing in his ears. The woman smiled sweetly before kicking him in the groin. The skinny man fell to his knees while the guard drove a fist into her ribs. She folded over and he let her fall onto the floor.  
Piccolo heaved at the men on either arm and bucked at the man holding him against the wall. He recognized the face and snarled snapping his teeth, the man howled and leapt back covering the right side of his face. Piccolo lurched at the skinny man who now had gotten to his feet and was kicking at Negate balled up on the floor. The man turned and smiled at him, ignoring the moaning from behind him. Staring up at Piccolo his smile faltered.  
"So you're the new one then." The man grasped a hold of Piccolo's gi top ripping a chunk out of the collar when he made to pull Piccolo down to his height. Frustrated, he punched Piccolo with his entire strength in the stomach. Piccolo didn't move, only looked down on him and smiled slowly. The man stepped back with a growl before snapping his fingers for the clipboard. "Number 01009 'A', assault on an officer, threat of an officer." The man with the pin-holed face grinned until Piccolo sneered at him. "That's going to earn you some work. We'll break your spirit and if that doesn't work, we'll sweat it out of you."  
The guards left and as the door swung shut Piccolo leapt at the window. Negate hacked behind him and he turned to see her cough up a wad of phlegm that was tinted pink. She gave him a weak smile. "You've been bunked up with the wrong person big guy. I'm not exactly the guards' favorite." Moaning she stood and gripped her side as she slowly sat on the low bunk. She looked up at him squinting before openly studying him again. She grinned. "So are you made that way or is it added for some kind of trial?" Piccolo looked at her queerly. She pointed, "The lines that run across your arms and stomach."  
Piccolo looked at his arms for a moment before giving her an odd look. "I was created this way, just like all Nameks."  
"Oh." That same grin. Negate winced and pressed her side a little harder.  
"Why?" Piccolo sat slowly again on the hard floor and crossed his legs with great difficulty. Negate shrugged and lay down carefully on her side. She regarded him openly as he crossed his arms and tried to meditate. Getting slightly annoyed at the feeling of being watched Piccolo snapped, "What?"  
Negate sighed and rolled onto her other side gingerly with a weak apology. "Sorry." Piccolo closed his eyes and relaxed a little when her breath evened out in sleep. 


	4. Welcome to Work Detail

A harsh awakening two hours later began the start of Piccolo's first day on the ship. He and Negate were pushed down a long hall, the smell of eerily disgusting food floated at them. Piccolo felt his stomach clench at the stench but could see Negate nearly drooling the closer they got. They were sat at a long table of others, some of them could barely hold their heads above the bowls they were sipping from, others glared around the room looking to pick a fight. Negate leaned slightly to one side, favoring the possibly broken ribs. A large man, another prisoner wrapped in a huge apron dropped two bowls down in front of them, a thin gray soup splashed out and onto the tabletop. A small pitcher of water was set down after it and the prisoner winked at Negate and motioned to a table from across the room. Two women and one man that looked old enough to be their grandfather gave a slight nod and Negate grinned at them before taking a deep draught off of the rim.  
Piccolo watched in disgust as she began slurping at the watery gruel in the bowl. She looked up at him over the rim and blushed lightly. "I haven't been allowed to eat for two days." She grinned again but this time her eyes hardened and the small smile felt cold. Piccolo slid his dish toward her after she set hers down after licking the taters and drips from the bottom. She looked up at him shocked.  
"Aren't you hungry?" Piccolo shook his head. "Even if you aren't, maybe you should eat, it's going to be a long day." Piccolo only looked away and Negate shrugged easily emptying the bowl. She took another swig of water and offered the jug to Piccolo who took it and drank deeply after sniffing it.  
A booming voice filled the room. "Table IV report to work detail. Any stragglers and resistance will be punished by today's head guard." Negate stood along with the rest of the long table and Piccolo stood as well. A large man entered from the side door with a small scanner in one hand. The line moved slowly, people getting their cuff scanned before being led away. Negate held her cuff out and made to leave but the guard blocked her path with his arm.  
"You're looking well." He grinned, several of his teeth missing. Negate grimaced. "What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?"  
"No." Negate's voice had dropped and was full of violence. Piccolo stepped up behind her.  
"What do you want asshole? Can't you see the lady and I are having a conversation?" The guard growled. Piccolo grasped the guard's hand and pulled it away from the door jam, leaving Negate room to go through. The guard grunted in surprise and then fell to his knees in pain as Piccolo squeezed slowly the bones in his hand cracking in the grip. Piccolo scanned his own cuff with the hand still clutched tightly in his fist. When his number read on the bar he dropped the man's hand and followed Negate down the hallway.  
She turned and walked backward for several yards looking up at him with a mixture of awe and horror. When Piccolo looked back at her she smirked and turned around walking behind the group again.  
The room they entered was huge and full of large metal chunks and the heavy smell of machine oil. Sparks lit one side of the room with harsh glares and reflections. Negate walked toward the middle where the odor of gun oil and hot metal grew. Piccolo followed, not sure of what he was supposed to do. A man with a broad back and grease-covered torso smiled with a row of straight, startlingly white teeth at their approach. Negate smiled back, an equally bright one and yelled over the sound of hissing and scraping of metal on metal.  
"Nate, how's the wife and kids?"  
The large man grinned wider, "Dead." They both laughed but Piccolo looked between the two of them appalled. The incessant squeal of metal began to throb at the base of his skull and he resisted the urge to cover his ears with his hands. A guard came by and pointed to a mountainous mound of scrap metal. Negate nodded and Nate shrugged and turned back to his work. Walking to the pile, Negate heaved a large chunk of scrap nearly twice her size onto her shoulders and began to walk slowly toward the far end of the room. A guard snapped Piccolo with a chi whip and screamed at him to move his ass. Standing with a growl he noticed Negate had stopped and was nodding toward the pile of metal. Piccolo grasped something that looked like an engine block from the pile in one hand and grasped a piece of framework with the other before snarling at the guard and following Negate's slow progress. Piccolo easily caught up with his longer stride and stronger bulk. He could hear Negate breathing heavily already though he hadn't even broken a sweat.  
She looked up at him through the hair plastered to her forehead and gave him an odd look before concentrating on the floor again. A small line of workers trudged toward the pile behind them already covered in sweat and grease. Stopping at the small pile, Negate heaved the hunk of metal from her back and let it drop at her feet. Piccolo set his pieces down with the rest and followed Negate back toward the pile. A small trickle of blood creeped down Negate's back and Piccolo saw the source as a small gash in her upper back.  
"You're bleeding." Piccolo said with the same monotonous tone one might say, 'doorbell's ringing'.  
Negate nodded. "I know, it's from that metal. I felt it after I set it on my shoulder but it would have cost too much energy to reposition it than to leave it be." 


	5. Awe of Oil and Secrets to Keep

The day drug on much the same way, walking from one pile of metal to the other and dropping the pieces into a messy pile. As the time left, Piccolo could see the weight of the metal sapping the strength from Negate but didn't offer to help. He had tried once but Negate had glared icy daggers at him and mouthed something under her breath about not being a weak woman and jogged with the next three pieces on her back. She looked as though she would collapse at any moment and Piccolo kept a close watch on her. He noticed that Nate had kept an eye on her as well, especially when she began to lag behind the others. The guards had noticed as well and stepped carefully behind her several times and threatened the whip. Every time she would hiss at them and pick up the pace long enough for them to lose interest. When the day was finally over they walked back to their cell, Piccolo ahead of Negate. The cell guard moved well out of Piccolo's way as he entered and tripped Negate when she stepped in. Piccolo caught her before she could fall and grasped the bar in the door and barked at the guard who was already half way down the hall and laughing. Negate struggled to her feet and collapsed onto the floor with a deep sigh. They had moved the mountain of scrap from the entryway to the far side of the room. Now all of her muscles throbbed dully with each beat of her heart. "Is the guard gone?" Piccolo looked out the window again and nodded. Negate turned onto her knees with a moan and pulled a stone from the wall. Inside Piccolo could see a couple of items in the dull lighting. Negate removed a bottle and uncapped it, breathing in the scent for a moment before dipping her finger in and slathering the oil around the cuff of her right wrist. She motioned for Piccolo so sit and reached for his hand. Piccolo pulled away but Negate only laughed and motioned for him to give her his hand. Reluctantly Piccolo set his massive hand in her smaller one and she pulled it onto her lap. Dipping her finger into the oil again, she began to rub the oil around the metal. Piccolo was about to ask her what she was doing when he felt a tingle of chi returning into his body. The surge made him gasp and she grinned up at him then let his hand go. "That's all you get, sorry." She capped the bottle and returned it to its hiding spot before moving the stone in place again. "That's why they came in here last night." She groaned as she stood and stretched. "They'll probably be here again tonight. Do you want the bed this time?" Piccolo shook his head. "No. What is that stuff, and why do they want it?" "It's an oil that counteracts the chi-rings. Unfortunately it has to be done over a long period of time. There are about seven people who have used the bottle before me, their chi-dampeners are broken but they're leaving the rings on until there are enough people to fight back at the guards." "I guess that answers both of my questions then." "Don't tell them it's here." Her eyes shone with a dull fear. Piccolo snorted. "As long as I get some of it, my lips are sealed." Negate smiled. "Sure you don't want the bed?" She pushed some of the stuffing back into the holes. "If I want it I'll roll you out." She grinned and lay down. Piccolo sat lotus style and crossed his arms over his chest. Several minutes later he looked over at Negate and saw her looking at him again. "What?" She yawned and rolled over with a grunt as she mumbled. "Well." Piccolo leaned trying to hear what she said but only caught a piece. ".beautiful."  
  
The guards never came in the night, and Piccolo took that as a good sign. The woman needed all the sleep she could get. When she woke in the morning she looked like she had been somebody's personal punching bag. Her jaw had turned an ugly shade of yellow and greens as the bruise slowly healed, the cut in her upper back had reopened and seeped during the night leaving a trail of crusted blood. He couldn't see her ribs, but she was walking more stiffly and only assumed they were bruised if not broken.  
Negate groaned as she rolled laboriously off of the tattered mattress. The block guards were coming for room inspection before work detail would start and rumor had it that today was the wash down for the prisoners. The door swung open only seconds after she stood on her wavering feet, Piccolo watched her from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to collapse. The same skinny guard entered with a chi whip followed by three guards each holding a cattle prod. The lousy man grinned at Negate and sniffed indignantly at Piccolo before the guards tore the small room into shambles again. They offered no words and didn't once step threateningly at them. Piccolo smirked.  
As the guards turned to leave, the skinny man pulled his clipboard from somewhere and was scribbling furiously before he smiled sickly at Negate and Piccolo. "Numbers -00359 and 01009A, disregard of cleaning regulations. I suggest you two clean this mess up, this is the third time I've been here and it's been a mess. One more infraction and you'll get work detail for another two weeks." He turned on his heel and laughed until he began to cough, the three guards following him out of the door as it slammed soundly behind them.  
As soon as they had turned the corner and their voices no longer heard, Negate slumped against the wall and sat down hard on the ground. She began to wipe furiously at her eyes with her dirty shirt. Piccolo looked down at her for a moment, torn between what to do. As he began to scoot and attempt to console her she shoved at him with strength he didn't know she had and he fell back, slamming his head into the solid concrete walls. He glared at her from his spot on the floor, clutching at his pounding head.  
"I don't need your pity." She sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes for another moment, breathing deeply and grunting at regular intervals. Finally taking one last shaky breath she wiped her eyes one last time and stood slowly. Piccolo still sat on the floor, watching her warily, one long leg underneath him and the other crooked for support.  
Negate gave a small apologetic smile and stepped forward, Piccolo narrowed his eyes and tensed as she squatted next to him. "I'm sorry." She reached out to move his hand away and see what she had done but he lurched out of her reach. Negate frowned, "Just let me see it." Reluctantly, Piccolo dropped his hand and Negate bit her lip as she studied the gash on his head. "It's not all that bad really." Piccolo snorted and tensed up slightly, the chi cuff sparked and then the gash was gone. Negate sat again and stared at the spot on his head where the wound had been. Growing tired of the attention, Piccolo pushed himself from the floor.  
"Look I can regenerate okay? Get over it."  
Negate struggled stiffly to stand and shot out a hand to grasp tightly in Piccolo's gi as she began to stumble forward until she righted herself. She let go and frowned deeply. "That must come in handy."  
The door swung open and the same large greasy head guard from yesterday's work detail stood in the doorway, one hand bandaged tightly, shades of crimson painted pieces of the cloth. He glared at Piccolo but gave him wide birth as he exited and dared not look at Negate as she walked slowly out of the door. 


	6. Weep and Worry: Fall the Blood of the Br...

When they entered the galley, the table was already standing in line to leave for work detail. Negate clasped a hand over her stomach as it growled harshly before getting in line. Piccolo looked around them, not understanding. "We were last for inspection for a reason. They're trying to break your spirit and my body." Negate gave a harsh laugh. "At least one of us is doing well."  
The workroom smelled hotter than it had the day before and the mound of metal sat at the far end of the room. Piccolo saw Nate stand when he recognized the two of them. He pulled the visor off of his face and watched Negate with a severe look of worry. Negate walked slowly toward him and smiled but it was weak. Nate rested a hand on her shoulder and studied her face for a moment before letting her go. "You look like shit run over."  
"Thanks for the update." Negate frowned at him and walked stiffly to the pile of scrap at the far end. Nate clasped Piccolo's wrist tightly, Piccolo could barely read the number on the cuff for all of the mess but saw the letter 'C' engraved in blue. "You watch her today. I don't care how much she spits and snarls, she isn't going to fight you in that shape." Piccolo nodded and began to walk off but the grip tightened. Nate's eyes had narrowed and Piccolo got the impression that this man had been a warrior on some far planet, and he had been very good at it. "I mean it. She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us." The infliction on 'us' set Piccolo's head thinking as he stalked to the pile of metal. He picked up a piece and watched Negate's form bob in the sparse line heading to the far wall. Then he realized where he was going, they were moving the mountain back to the same spot it had set yesterday. Piccolo watched Negate slow down much quicker than she had yesterday. He had passed her once and could hear her laborious breathing and was sure that she was weeping.  
  
Around midday, Piccolo was nearly to the pile of metal with three chunks of iron piled on one shoulder when he heard a muffled shout and a harsh clang as metal cracked on the floor. Turning he could see Negate laying on her stomach, a chunk of metal inches from her head. She had collapsed. Guards came running, but none were fast enough to beat Piccolo there. He turned her slowly, blood leaked from her nose and her bottom lip was swollen, nearly bitten through. She breathed harshly, a spastic, hard cough blew blood across her chin. Piccolo could hear alarms bells ring in his head as the guards grew nearer, Nate had dropped his torch and was running at full tilt, trying his damndest to beat the guards there. He grasped one by the back of the collar and slammed the man into the floor, teeth and snot flying. Piccolo watched in awe as the man beat and tossed the biggest of the guards out of his way like they were infants. Piccolo crouched over Negate, feeling the sense of shock that ran through more than half of the worker's faces as they saw who lay bleeding on the floor. _She may be just a weak woman to you, but she means a hell of a lot to us._  
Nate let out a sharp yelp and Piccolo felt the cattle prod hit his lower back at the same moment. Electricity arched through his body, a screaming pain that was meant to collapse even the toughest of men, but Piccolo was no man. He leaned his body protectively over Negate, taking charges of electricity and chi whips blow after blow. Piccolo roared, the raw ferocity that ripped through him made the chi cuff spark and sizzle into his skin but he never felt it. The guards paused in their torment at the energy and harshness that bubbled from his throat. They backed up several steps, unsure if they should continue. Nate fell to the floor inches away from them cupping Negate's cheek in his greasy palm before several guards flung themselves on top of him and began to beat him mercilessly. Piccolo looked to stand, a glint of hate making his black eyes cold pits in his skull. Nate's eyes pleaded with him and Piccolo mistook it for help.  
Nate shook his head fiercely as Piccolo began to stand and a strangled, "No!" ripped from his body as a chi whip split his skin. Piccolo curled himself again against the beaten woman and heard her sob. He looked down, her face turned toward Nate, eyes wide as she watched him being beaten to death. Blood began to pool around Nate and his grunts of pain had stopped, his head lolling from side to side. Negate let out a wail of remorse so deep and awful Piccolo felt his heart nearly rip in two. He cupped her face and turned her head away but she struggled and he shook her lightly. "Don't look." Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, leaving clean trail across her cheeks. Piccolo watched as Nate's body was drug across the floor toward the door and felt a small flicker of chi in his body. He sighed and opened his mouth to tell his news to Negate, but she had already fallen unconscious. Piccolo slowly stood, Negate held tightly to his chest. The guards stepped back, allowing him to leave. Piccolo didn't know his way around and left through the same door they entered. People eating in the galley gasped as he came through followed by several dozen guards all keeping their distance. Violet blood dripped down Piccolo's back and left a small trail behind him while Negate coughed fitfully and coated his chest in deep crimson. A small table in the corner that held the same people that had given Negate the pitcher of water stood swiftly and walked quickly toward him. "Don't get in my way, just show me where to bring her." The two women nodded and hurried off toward a door Piccolo hadn't noticed before. The old man walked slowly beside Piccolo, looking up at him in intense contemplation.  
When Piccolo entered the small room, there was a man already waiting, the two women on either side of him. Piccolo lay Negate gently on the tabletop, glaring icily at the man who began to tend her wounds. The old man asked him to sit but Piccolo remained solid, keeping watch over the proceedings.  
"Please, you are badly injured." The old man motioned again for Piccolo to sit. Piccolo sat, but scooted the chair near the table and growled at anyone who came near him with gauze or ointment.  
Piccolo could hear the two girls as they whispered to themselves. He had ignored most of it, but they slowly gained his attention as they pointed between Negate and himself. "You can see where he covered her.yes but why would that beast care.maybe he's one of us.I don't trust him." Their voices carried on, and with it Piccolo could feel his anger slowly build. The old man lay a hand on his shoulder and Piccolo violently shrugged it off.  
"Look here boy, don't mind the twins. What you've done today you can't even begin to fathom. Yes, you saved a woman but you've done more than that. She is what keeps most of these people breathing. If she had died today it would have broken any resistance we have started to build." The old man looked at the prone form half bandaged and bleeding.  
Piccolo grunted. He was getting the feeling that there had to be more to the story, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. "What about the man? What are they going to do with him?" The old man looked at him, confused. "Nate."  
The two girls came to tight attention at his name. "What happened.to Nate?" One finishing the other's sentence.  
"He fought off several guards to get to Negate but he was beaten nearly to death." The old man shook his head, stringy gray locks waving in his face. The twins gasped in unison and clutched at each other.  
"Well, if he isn't dead he'll be dropped in the hole to die or heal. If he dies so be it, if he is healed he'll probably be beaten nearly to death again and made to work tirelessly." The man pushed his hair from his face and sighed deeply.  
Piccolo nodded, knowing that it would be something like that. Negate moaned on the table and blinked the world back into focus. Piccolo helped her sit up, her swollen lip making her appear to pout. She smiled sickly at him, the medicines swimming in her blood stream making her nauseous. Negate struggled to her feet, weary and ready to sleep.  
"I'm afraid it's a scrub-down day, you'll have to help her until she gets a decent amount of sleep. There won't be work duty for the next two days at least because of the outburst, but after that you'll probably be worked even harder."  
Negate struggled to the door and opened it, stopping to lean into the doorframe to catch her breath. She motioned for Piccolo to follow and he obliged, carefully falling into step behind her, waiting to catch her if she fell.  
The old man watched them go, and smiled slightly. Shook his head and shut the door. 


	7. Broken and Bloody

Negate had passed the hall to go to the cells and Piccolo grunted. "What did that old man mean, 'scrub-down day'?" Negate slowed and leaned imperceptibly into Piccolo's side, breathing deeply.  
"They hose everyone down like cattle. It kills whatever germs and disease may be spreading around the cellmates." Negate tenderly touched her swollen lip and grimaced at the spurt of blood that oozed from the laceration.  
Piccolo stopped suddenly, and Negate nearly fell over. "But why would you need help with that?"  
"For god's sake I can barely walk!" Negate walked clumsily to the nearest wall and leaned there. "You'll probably have to hold me up." She smiled sheepishly and a deep blush bit at her cheeks.  
Piccolo frowned. _ They hose everyone down like cattle._ Piccolo nodded, it was probably like being hosed with a pressure washer. Hell a stiff breeze in the hall could knock her down. "Fine." Negate nodded and they walked meticulously down the hall where spurts of steam blew from under a door jam. Piccolo heard a man holler 'Next!.Turn!' and the sounds of a pressure hose blasting for several seconds before he started again.  
Negate walked into a small stall and sat heavily on the bleached stool. Fumbling with a button on her cuff she finally grunted and bit it off in frustration. Piccolo entered behind her and she motioned for him to close the curtain. The space smelled of sweat and urine and was covered in a fine layer of grime. She smiled at his curled nose, "We're the last block to get hosed. Nearly a thousand people have been moved through this space today." Negate struggled to pull her arm through the sleeve and Piccolo watched for a moment in shock of what she was doing.  
"What are you doing?" Piccolo's mouth hung agape and Negate looked at a spot in the floor like it was some new species of dirt. He knew perfectly well what she was doing.  
"You can't get deloused with your clothes on." Her voice was small and that same dark blush colored her face to the roots of her hair. She struggled a moment trying to pull the shirt off of her head and finally sat still with a grunt. "I need some help." Piccolo averted his eyes and grasped the bottom of her shirt, tugging it gently over her head. Negate hissed in pain but muttered a small thanks anyway. She struggled a moment with her pants but managed to remove them without needing any aid.  
Negate covered her breasts with her arm and tried in vain to pull the end of the bandage the wrapped her ribs. She growled in frustration before sitting down on the stool and sighing. "Could you." but Piccolo had already moved behind her and began hastily unwrapping the gauze but slowed when she held her breath and he began to see the deep bruising and tears of flesh it had covered. When he had finished, Negate held out her hand and took the clean tissue from him. "If you'd help me rewrap after this I'd love you forever." Piccolo dared look at her face but she was smiling warmly and Piccolo nodded.  
They waited in silence, Piccolo standing and Negate sitting uncomfortably, trying her best to cover herself with her arms. Finally, Negate cleared her throat and motioned at Piccolo. Piccolo frowned. "What?"  
"Well, you have to get hosed too." Negate trailed off and watched a bead of dew roll down the dirty wall.  
"WHAT?!" Piccolo shook his head and backed up until his back touched the curtain behind him. Negate shrugged. Piccolo clenched his eyes shut and began speaking in Namekien as he undid the sash at his waist and hastily pulled off his clothing. Negate said nothing, only stood and walked to the curtain, pulling it open and walking to the small room outside of the main room. The smell of cleaner and sweat commingling. The light on the door was red and the two stood facing away from each other. Negate watched him from the corner of her eye, taking in what had been buried under folds of violet. She had been right about his alien beauty, his bone structure alone would make a nun beg with want, but the rest that stood beside her made her think that small countries would gladly surrender themselves only to glimpse the beauty.  
Piccolo shifted, he knew she was looking at him and he tried his damndest not to let it get to him or to snap at her but he felt the violet blush in his face and the bubble of annoyance build in his stomach. Thankfully the light had flashed green and Negate grasped the handle and gave it a hard jerk. Steam swallowed them up and the feeling of nakedness left them as they wandered into the room barely able to see their hands in front of their own faces. A booming voice told them to stop and Negate faced toward the voice, finding it harder to breath in the steam and took great gasps of air. She could hear Piccolo close by, most likely behind her, but she thought not. They would have made him move.  
She heard the click of the machine as it sprang on and the hot burst of water nearly knocked her off of her feet. A strong hand closed on her shoulder and held her up. Even though it was quick and vicious, the blow of the water melted away all the grime and sweat of the two weeks. Even though her body ached the feeling of being clean made her feel invigorated, like she could take on the system and break it with her own two hands. The Voice told them to turn and she nearly fell on the slippery floor but Piccolo caught her in one strong arm slick with soapy water.  
They left the room through another door, fresh clothes were laid out on the bench and Negate grasped them up and dressed hurriedly. Piccolo scoffed at his clothes and materialized a fresh set for himself. Negate paused in pulling on her pants and looked at him in shock but shook her head and pulled them the over her hips and buttoned them. Negate led them back to the cell and noticed that someone had cleaned the mess that had been left that morning. Negate sat on the bed and pulled at her shirt, letting a fistful of gauze lay on the mattress. Piccolo helped again, laying the clean shirt beside her and wrapped the bruises gently. Negate tugged her shirt over the cloth and lay carefully on the mattress.  
"You want the bed?" Piccolo shook his head and sat again. She smiled at him, reaching carefully out to rest her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. For everything." Piccolo grunted and nodded his head.  
"Get some rest, you have a lot of healing to do."  
Negate sighed and rolled onto her good side facing the wall, this time Piccolo didn't have to strain to hear her. "Good night, beautiful." 


	8. Lifted Spirits

Morning came slowly, thankfully Negate had slept the entire night in an exhausted stupor. Piccolo was restless however, the fighting from earlier had left him with a need to stretch his muscles and train. He hadn't meditated in days and his mind was fighting with itself. There wasn't space to do kata's or even to stretch in the little room, Piccolo decided it was for the best anyway he probably would have woken Negate and she needed healing time.  
Piccolo growled in frustration, some vacation this had turned out to be. Carefully, Piccolo pulled at the stone in the wall and jimmied it loose. Reaching inside he pulled out the contents he had barely seen before. The bottle of oil he sat carefully beside him, knowing its importance. The matches he tossed back into the depths of the hole; the blade he tested on his thumb and found it to be much like it's owner, rough looking and beaten but still sharp as a razor; the photograph he squinted at for a moment. There were two people in the picture, a woman-he soon realized to be Negate years younger or maybe time had aged her prematurely-and a boy. Their faces pressed hard together until their cheeks were mashed flat. Both had identical smiles on their faces.  
"That was my baby brother." Piccolo snapped to attention and saw Negate had rotated on the bed and lay at the foot looking over Piccolo's shoulder at the picture in his hand. Negate smiled softly as she looked at it. "He was such a pain in the ass."  
"Is he here somewhere?" Piccolo looked from the photograph of Negate to the original item laying on the bed. With the dirt that had been washed off hours ago, she looked more like the photo than before only her face had a harder edge to it now.  
Negate shook her head, shaggy hair swayed freely around her head now that the grease had been blasted from it. "He was killed. I was taken." Negate rolled onto her back with a groan and crossed her arms behind her head. Piccolo put the items back and gently picked up the bottle of oil but Negate took it from his hands. She popped open the top and rubbed the oil across the chi ring and smiled a little bigger. Climbing off of the bed she sat beside Piccolo and pulled his hand to her and winced. The chi ring had burnt into his wrist and was clinging to the angry tissue.  
"When did that happen?"  
Piccolo looked at his wrist and picked at the cuff, pulling it from his tortured flesh with a small grunt. "I don't really remember." Negate gently applied the oil to the cuff, careful not to scrape the abrasion on Piccolo's wrist.  
"Wholly shit, what about this?" Negate ran a finger lightly up a jagged cut high on Piccolo's shoulder and saw it continued well under his gi top. She tugged at the purple cloth, much to Piccolo's agitation, and gaped at the crisscrossing of gouges and lacerations along his back. They looked painful, but none were weeping and Piccolo made no noise as she traced them with her fingers. "You covered me didn't you?"  
"You don't remember?"  
"I don't remember much of anything." Negate frowned. The glaring marks along Piccolo's hide made her angry. He shouldn't have gotten involved. Slowly, and in pieces, her memory recalled the events of earlier. _ Her body thrummed with pain, she collapsed. Piccolo's face, a mild worry glowing in his eyes. The noise of feet on metal, the guards coming. Nate._ Negate gasped, "Oh no, Nate!" She bit her lip and buried her face in Piccolo's back.  
Piccolo could feel her shaking at his back but couldn't do much about it. He reached behind him and grasped her leg, pulling her non-too gently to his side, awkwardly wrapping one large arm around her shoulders. He hadn't much practice at teary people, the extent of his experience was with Gohan as a boy. Negate sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "He's not dead. Yet." Piccolo looked at her, gauging her reaction. Negate nodded, accepting what he had said with relative calm. She leaned into the crook of his arm and sighed deeply.  
"They're doing a good job, dammit."  
Piccolo frowned, "What are you talking about?"  
Negate shook her head and stood, it looked easier than it had yesterday, and sat on the bed. "Breakfast is in an hour or so, I think I'm going to take a nap." She lay curled in the fetal position, hugging a chunk of mattress to her chest. Piccolo placed the stone back in the wall and watched her back as she breathed. He knew she wasn't sleeping, and when the guard came to unlock the door an hour and a half later she still lay until Piccolo rolled her off of the mattress.  
"Stop sulking like a child." Piccolo growled. Negate growled back at him and walked stiffly in front of Piccolo, not looking once to see if he followed. They entered the galley, tables full but the doors that led to work detail were closed and guards stood in the doorways looking bored.  
  
Negate sat and frowned down at the bowl of gruel that was set in front of her. The feeling of a greasy cheeseburger dripping juices from her chin wouldn't let go of her mind. Sighing, she stomached the bowl in three heavy swallows. She looked up at Piccolo who was watching the room with a calculating gaze. Gods he was beautiful. And it was her fault he was beaten and that striking emerald skin was split open.  
"You have to forgive me." She mumbled and Piccolo looked down at her.  
"You haven't done anything to me." Negate shook her head. "Don't let them bear you down. You can either break or build up again." Piccolo held her gaze, one that told her all he said was true. One that said if you fail in this the world will stop turning. One that believed as long as you stand, you have good on your side, and the will of good always triumphs.  
Negate nodded, her face set in grim determination. She stood laughing, the room grew quiet as hundreds of eyes turned to her. Piccolo looked at her like she was going crazy, ready to fight off the first wave or guards he knew would surely come. Her laughter deepened, and the room seemed to dim. But no, Piccolo noticed, the room didn't dim.she grew brighter.  
Piccolo had never once felt desire, thought he knew the meaning of lovely, of inner strength but they all in turn were given new meaning as Negate breathed deeply and laughed harder, wiping a tear from her eye. When she looked at Piccolo he would have fallen if he hadn't been sitting. The bruising of her face seemed to fade and her dark eyes sparkled with mirth. Then as suddenly as she began, she stopped, breathing out in words of "woo" that only come after hard laughter makes your face cramp and sides hurt.  
She sat again, chuckling lightly under her breath as the room slowly began to murmur again. Piccolo looked at her, eyes wide, not understanding what had just happened. Negate grinned at a small table in the corner, the old man and twins both smiling brightly.  
"What the hell was that?"  
"You told me to build up. When people see that life hasn't beaten me, they all feel better, and when they feel better so do I." She grinned, looking up at Piccolo with those same lovely dark eyes and Piccolo looked away, not sure of what had passed.  
A hand fell onto her shoulder and she jumped slightly but nodded her head and smiled at the aged man and twins that stood behind her. She stood, Piccolo standing and following, not sure of what was happening. The guards in the doors came to attention, especially the ones that were standing before the small door they had walked into the day before. "What business do you have here? Go sit down." The guard frowned at them. The old man nodded his head sagely.  
"This young lady still needs to be treated, her ribs are broken and she is in much pain." He motioned to Negate who, although still in pain and bruised badly, gripped her side and moaned so pitifully nearby tables were scoffing at the guard and getting teary.  
"Fine. But make it quick." The guard stepped out of the way, the small group entered quickly. Piccolo paused in the door and looked down at the man and gave him a toothy grin. The man swallowed thickly. "I mean-- take all the time you need." Piccolo nodded and shut the door behind him.  
The old man was watching Piccolo with a keen interest. Not enjoying attention, Piccolo shifted from one foot to the other and finally crossed the room and sat. He waited patiently for them to patch up Negate, but the women were busy stuffing things into a small leather bag and Negate was quietly placing small bundles of food into a bladder. "Hey, Beautiful." The girls stopped their moving, giggled quietly together and continued their work. Piccolo looked around the room confused. Negate leaned across the table and looked down at him. "Don't you know your name?" She didn't smile but Piccolo could see the humor in her eyes.  
"That isn't my name." Piccolo frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as he stood.  
"Well, since you never bothered to offer." Negate shrugged and drew the strings on the bladder tightly shut.  
"It's Piccolo." Still frowning Piccolo took the bag she held out to him.  
"Okay." She smiled up at him briefly and turned to the wall, pulling the grating carefully from the vent. It wasn't exactly large, but it wasn't small either and she pulled herself up onto the ledge and motioned the girls to hand her the bag they still clung to.  
Piccolo stepped forward and stopped them. "Wait a minute. What are you doing?"  
"I'm going to help Nate." A determined look on her face, mixed with the nonchalant attitude told Piccolo that this wasn't the first time she'd done this. He grunted and allowed the girls to hand over the bag. She slung it over her shoulder and tied the bottom around her waist. Then motioned for Piccolo to hand over the bladder.  
"You're going by yourself?" She nodded. Piccolo looked around the room at the other three who averted their gaze. "Then get moving, I won't stand here all day."  
Smiling lightly she turned and moved head first down the darkening tunnel. Sighing, Piccolo easily lifted his bulk into the tube and followed her, swearing softly in Namekien at how tight the passage really was once inside. He heard a small giggle from the wriggling form ahead of him and he humphed.  
Suddenly, the body ahead of him was gone. Stopping in the tube he reached out carefully and felt around, they had reached the end of the tunnel. _How stupid are the Eliokon's anyway, to have a vent connecting directly to solitary?_ Dropping softly to his hands, Piccolo bent in half and settled onto his feet again. It felt great to stretch. A sudden spurt of light in the darkness hurt his eyes and he shielded them with one hand and saw Negate crouching near Nate with a small lamp she had pulled from the satchel. He walked slowly over and grimaced at the sight that lay at his feet. 


	9. A Short History Lesson

Nate lay in a heap, not having moved once after being thrown into solitary. Negate carefully picked at the clothing stuck to his wounds and Nate hissed, slowly coming to consciousness. "Hey, Nate." Negate smiled at him but Piccolo heard the waver in her voice and could see the shimmer of tears in her eyes as she worked.  
She took the bag from Piccolo's hand and pulled a small bottle of water and set it to Nate's lips, telling him to drink. Piccolo fidgeted, not knowing what to do and feeling the fool for following Negate to the man that seemed to hold some special place with her. He moved to the hole in the wall, ready to leave her to her work when she looked up at him suddenly. Piccolo froze, she was pleading with him with her eyes, begging him to stay.she couldn't do it alone. Piccolo sat next to Nate, taking in the wounds and helped him sit slowly, a strong arm slipping in the blood that covered his back.  
"Dammit." Negate shuffled through the bag. "I need to get something from the lab. I'll be right back." Nate nodded with a stiff neck and Piccolo watched her struggle up into the fixture and heard her sob quietly as she climbed.  
Nate groaned in his arms and Piccolo helped him sit fully and lean into the wall. "Seems you two are quite the pair." He grinned, both of his lips swollen and voice dry. Piccolo snorted and handed him the bottle of water. Nate took a small swallow and sighed. He looked at Piccolo thoughtfully for some time, Piccolo began to wonder where Negate had gone and then if Nate had slipped back into unconsciousness when he finally spoke again. "Jaunie has taken a shining to you."  
Piccolo jumped at the voice then shrugged. "What makes you say that?" Pausing a moment to register the name, he had never heard anyone call her anything but Negate while he had been here.  
"Normally she'd have you transferred to a different cell by now. That's what happened with every single person they've thrown in with her. I don't know how she does it, but as soon as she tells the head guard that it isn't working out, they find a new cell for them." Nate shook his head and coughed harshly, wiping blood and phlegm from his lips.  
"I've only been here seven days."  
Nate laughed but stopped as he began to cough again. "Only. That's rich." Apparently gaining in strength, Nate adjusted his position and rummaged through the sack that Negate had brought down. Finding the bladder beside it, he pulled the strings open and began to chew slowly on a piece of bread. "I know you don't know how important Jaunie is, but I want you to know that I appreciate what you're doing anyway."  
Piccolo stood and paced the small room, counting his steps. The solitary room was larger than the cell he slept in. How ironic. Turning to Nate, Piccolo sat across from him and levitated off of the floor a few inches. "What makes Negate so important to you? She has no significant strength, I don't understand how she has such a power over everyone."  
"That's a simple question my friend, with a complicated answer." Nate groaned and swallowed more water. "Jaunie was the guardian of the planet known as Pilma.you haven't heard of it I know. I only know because I once had access to the computer mainframes."  
Piccolo's eyes widened. "She was a guardian of a planet?"  
Nate nodded. "Empathetic as well; on more than a personal level. The girl can transmit feeling. Do you have any idea how incredible that is?" Piccolo shook his head but he thought he may have had his first glimpses during breakfast. "She was chosen as guardian, her family was very proud of her. Then the Eliokon came, blew her planet to pieces after taking who they wanted."  
Piccolo gasped, had they blown apart New Namek after taking him? Were there more Namek's aboard the ship?  
"Relax, friend. They only destroyed her planet because it was technologically advanced, they had the means to fight back and probably win if the Eliokon hadn't destroyed them first. So if you're home is not so modern they have only taken those that threaten them." Nate chewed on another piece of food and offered Piccolo a piece as well. Piccolo shook his head.  
"Who are the Eliokon?"  
Nate shrugged. "No one really knows. They are bent on universal domination, picking up random fighters to either aid them or be destroyed."  
"Then why take someone like Negate?"  
"She has power like no other. She can rally a horde of unfit, over aged drunkards to battle a star cruiser by simply telling them that they can win. It's her power, they believe her and with their belief her power grows stronger, it's a cycle that can feed itself to epic proportions or suffocate itself until she is only a husk of what she once was."  
Piccolo thought critically. The miniscule healing in the galley, that had happened after the whole room had seen her laugh and given them hope. Things began to settle into place and Piccolo began to wonder what the woman was capable of.  
A rustling of cloth came from behind him and Piccolo stood to help Negate out of the tunnel. She had a small purse in her hand and she thanked him as he set her on her feet. A small syringe was pulled from the purse, along with two vials of clear liquid. Talking over her shoulder, Negate got Piccolo's attention. "Beautiful, come give me a hand over here."  
Walking across to her, Nate looked up at him with a funny look on his face and a big smile. Ignoring the look, Piccolo pushed past him and helped Negate roll him stiffly. Nate grunted once then remained quiet for the remainder of the torture that must have been his treatment. Negate injected what was later discovered as morphine into Nate's arm then began to cleanse his wounds with steady strokes of alcohol drenched strips of cloth. The smell made Piccolo's head swim but he helped as best he could, doing what was asked without hesitation.  
When Negate stood some twenty minutes later, Nate was sitting up again, a bit cleaner and feeling much better. Negate left him with the bladder of food and told him to place the bladder and satchel into the vent when he was able to move around easier. Nate nodded, knowing already that they needed to be hidden lest they were discovered and more hell broke loose.  
Piccolo helped Negate into the vent and picked up the lantern by Nate's side. Nate stopped him a moment by grasping his wrist "Be careful. Don't let them break her spirit. She's the only thing most of these people have left." Piccolo nodded and Nate let him go. Turning off the lantern, Piccolo heaved himself into the vent and replaced the grating before squeezing his bulk up the shaft. 


	10. Waking from the Dream

When they left the small room after cleaning the blood off of most of their clothing and tending Negate's wounds, the guard simply nodded to them as they walked past.  
Once the door to the cell was closed securely, Negate removed the stone and pulled the oil from its hidden spot and uncapped it. Already aware of the drill, Piccolo allowed her to take his hand and slather the oil around his wrist. The wound had begun to heal with his increased metabolism, but without the use of much of his chi, Piccolo couldn't heal everything quickly. Negate tugged at the top of his gi and he allowed her to pull it to his waist so she could check his wounds.  
"They look a little better." She sounded optimistic and ran her fingertips across some of the ones that had nearly healed and were little more than light scars.  
She cleaned the deeper with cloth and alcohol she had smuggled from the small medical room. It was quiet for some time, only the gurgle of alcohol as it was turned upside down breaking the silence every few minutes. "Why do you call me that?" Piccolo's voice was quiet but Negate stiffened slightly. Capping the small bottle she stored it with the others behind the stone.  
She sat on the tattered mattress and looked him over. "Well." she started but paused and bit her lip in thought. "Because you are."  
"But I'm not of your species." Piccolo's eye ridges furrowed.  
Negate shrugged and felt the blush rise in her cheeks. "It doesn't matter I guess. Beauty has no bounds." another pause as she contemplated. "Would you like me to show you?"  
Slightly taken aback and unsure of what it meant Piccolo blinked before slowly nodding his head.  
Negate gave him a small smile. "It's going to be weird, because you'll be seeing yourself.only the way others see you not like a reflection. Do you understand?" Piccolo nodded again and Negate settled onto the bed eyes closed. When they opened Piccolo noticed they were a shade darker. He was startled as she faded from his view and he slowly saw himself.  
She had been right, it was different than his reflection. There was no two dimensional measure, and the flatness of a mirror image was nothing. At first he thought he was looking upon another Namek, but he recognized his own features after a time. It was crazy, but he could see things in his aura of being he had never considered before, his skin looked soft and the muscles stood more plainly, the patchwork of pink flesh stark but lovely. He closed his eyes and shook his head, not wanting to look anymore and when he opened them again he saw Negate sitting cross-legged on the tattered mattress with a small look of deflated hope.  
"That was.different." Piccolo finally muttered. Negate nodded, reclining onto the mattress and sighed. It was hard to accept what he had seen through her eyes, especially because he had been looking at himself. Had he been gazing at another Namek, his appreciation may have been more founded but he refused to believe that he could have such an effect on anyone.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Several days had passed, the monotony of the daily cycles starting to wear thin on Piccolo's nerves. Negate had been rather pensive after showing him how she sees him then picked up on his fraying attitude and kept mostly to herself, even in the small room.  
One night while Negate sat on the floor and uncapped the vial of oil between her knees she watched Piccolo as he tried his damndest to stretch. "Are there many more of you? Namek's I mean."  
Piccolo grunted in frustration and sat on the floor, giving her his wrist. "Yes, but I don't live with them." She paused in the application and he watched her eyebrows furrow together but she didn't ask him why. In a way Piccolo was relieved, but a part of him felt grim that the strong willed woman he had met had receded somewhere into her head.  
When she had finished she capped the bottle and was returning it when she gasped audibly and Piccolo saw her eyes roll into her head and caught her before she hit the ground. He shook her gently, "Negate." Her head lolled from side to side and he set her down on the bed gingerly. Her chi hadn't dropped, and if he was sensing right seemed to be increasing. A sharp intake of breath and her face flushed with color. "Jaunie?" Piccolo leaned over her, shaking her harder this time.  
Amber eyes opened and she began to giggle. Piccolo let her go, a wash out of relief cooling his system as she slowly sat up and her giggles increased until she was laughing. Louder and louder, tears rolling down her cheeks, Negate was clutching her ribs with her eyes screwed shut. Piccolo watched her like she was going mad and her peals of mirth began to echo in the small room and bounce into the hall. The lights began to flicker, and after a moment Piccolo realized they were pulsing to the beat of her laughter.  
She started to calm and she looked up at Piccolo with tear-streaked cheeks and a smile so large it looked like her face would break. "D-don't you get it?" She giggled. Piccolo shook his head, still keeping his distance. Her chi had nearly tripled in strength but her chi ring wasn't shocking her.  
"Are you alright?" Piccolo asked after the laughter died and only the occasional suppressed snort came.  
She jumped from the small mattress and did a sudden handstand, landing on her feet chuckling to herself. "I would say the best I've felt in a very long time." She smiled at him, so ecstatically happy that he couldn't stop himself from smiling back. A wave of nausea rocked across Piccolo's body and he clutched his stomach, bent over at the middle. Negate tried to catch him but settled for slowing his decent to the ground.  
Piccolo hissed, flares of white pain racking his body. They slowed and he could feel them as though from a distance and when he opened his eyes he was laying on the blue-green grass of New Namek. 


	11. Prepare and Battle

~*~On Earth~*~  
  
Goku and Vegeta hunched over and resting with hands on their knees, panted harshly. Sweat dripped from their hairlines and pooled at their feet.  
"Good spar, Vegeta." Goku grinned. Vegeta nodded and up righted, stretching his spine and laughing to himself. It had been an exceptional day, the weather was sunny but a chilly fall breeze blew along that kept them cool as the heat of their match escalated late into the day.  
A spurt of chi caught their attention and they both jerked to the south, staring into the distance. As they realized it was familiar they felt a wash of relief and leapt to the air to see what was so important.  
  
Piccolo had spent the remainder of the day gathering the dragon balls on New Namek and wished himself home. When he appeared on the lookout, Dende regarded him oddly and pointed out that he had been gone for only a day. Piccolo snapped at him then apologized quickly before leaping from the lookout. He needed to find the rest of the senshi, something was coming to Earth and he knew that it was going to be one hell of a problem if they were caught off-guard.  
  
When Goku and Vegeta landed, Gohan, Yamcha and Krillen already stood around Piccolo with looks of surprise and determination.  
"What's going on guys?" Goku asked, resting a hand on his sons shoulder.  
"Piccolo had a vision while he was on New Namek." Gohan answered.  
Vegeta looked at them coolly. "Since when were you on Namek?"  
Piccolo shook his head. "I have no time to explain. There's something coming. A ship, full of prisoners taken from planets all over the galaxy." Vegeta looked at him like he had flipped but Goku's demeanor had straightened and he had the look of the warrior on his face that made Vegeta grunt and listen instead of making a snappy comeback. "They've taken warriors and people of importance from planets then destroyed them if they had the technology to give them chase or fight them."  
Goku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And they're coming here?" Piccolo nodded. "When will they be here?"  
Piccolo paused. "I-I don't know."  
Vegeta snorted. "You don't know?"  
"Look it could be days or a few months but they're coming." Piccolo snapped, the fury in his eyes leaving everyone taken aback.  
"Then I guess we should start getting ready then. What do you say guys?" Yamcha asked, looked around at the little group. There were little remarks of affirmation and nods.  
Piccolo turned and looked up into the sky, trying to see beyond the blue. _Dende help me if I'm wrong. _  
But he wasn't.  
  
Not quite three days later, the group of Earth's saviors stood in a semi-circle looking up at the speck in the atmosphere that was growing larger with each passing minute. Sweat rolled from Piccolo's temple down along his jaw, they were coming, and he didn't know how strong they were, but if at least one of them could break into the ship and start letting prisoners loose, all the better.  
Piccolo told the others of his plan and they said that Bulma could scan the ship and tell him where the prison cells were located but he shook his head and declined. The speck was now the size of a basketball and that was enough of a difference, the six of them leapt to meet them head on.  
Piccolo went directly for the back of the ship, firing chi blasts as the minions of the Eliokon began to fall from portals to meet the warriors that came to defend their planet. Piccolo drove his fist deep into the guts of the nearest, puncturing the armor and feeling his fist hit cool air as it exited his back. He shook the gurgling beast from his arm and swung at another.  
He charged a chi blast and aimed for the docking doors, blasting them in and followed the roiling fireball as it passed through the passageways. He stopped and looked around himself. He didn't recognized this spot but he felt a familiar chi somewhere close by and followed the twisting corridors until he nearly ran into the person he was tracking.  
Nate stood, gripping a guard by the neck in each hand as he snarled and Piccolo heard the vertebrate pop and he dropped them to the floor in heaps. Nate turned and looked at him before passing by him and leaping onto another pack of guards. "Nate, where is Negate?"  
The man looked up at him from his pile and stared at him in shock. "How do you know my name, stranger?" A fist caught his jaw and he growled, grabbing the man's head in his hands and twisting violently. When he looked back up at Piccolo his eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Negate?"  
A large mountain of a man came whooping down the corridor at Nate's back and Piccolo yelled at him to get down. Nate dropped to his knees and Piccolo let a shot of chi fly from his fingertips and pierce the man through his chest, catching three more guards that stood behind him. Nate stood, looked at him with a mixture of awe and suspicion before head butting a man in the face.  
"She's down that way, hopefully getting people free." Piccolo turned and began to sprint down the corridors, his antennae blown back from his face. "She's the short one! With the maniacal grin!" He heard Nate's voice echo from behind him.  
Piccolo clothes lined the nearest guard and stamped on his head, following the sound of frantic screaming. The galley was filled with people running back and forth, trying to find an exit or someplace to hide. Guards were beating down wave after wave of prisoners that rushed at them in steady flows, trampling some of their own. Piccolo searched frantically but couldn't see Negate anywhere. The ship rocked harshly, masses thrown into walls. Either the saiyajins had to break their way in, or the ship had just crash-landed on the planet.  
A low boom rumbled under his feet and Piccolo covered his face with his arms as the shrapnel of masticated walls blew in. Vegeta stood in the hole, golden hair flowing and an evil cackle sent guards scurrying over everyone trying to get away. Grabbing the closest, Vegeta broke them into pieces with the flick of his wrist and stopped the others with small bursts of chi. Piccolo dove from the room, racing along the halls and met Gohan beating a guard --Piccolo remembered breaking his wrist-into the wall, the surface buckling under the pressure.  
Piccolo ran, beating guards without merci and throwing them from his path as he began to search frantically for Negate. He remembered the first night, seeing the greasy guard as he kicked and beat at Negate without mercy. He saw the sickly man cowering in the darkness and grasped him by the neck, hauling up to full height. "You, where's the woman?"  
The man croaked, trying to squirm out of Piccolo's grip. Piccolo shook him and the man gurgled. He set the guard on his feet held him against the wall with one hand against the man's chest. "I won't ask you again."  
"You mean -00359? She's dead." The man began to laugh and Piccolo leaned heavily onto his arm and felt one of the man's ribs crack. He screamed and began to sob.  
"Don't lie to me!" Piccolo fumed, he began to build a layer of energy in his palm. The man squirmed as the heat began to sear into his skin.  
"I'm not I swear! I saw one of the guards beat her after releasing the prisoner's cuffs." Piccolo heaved on his weight and two more of the man's ribs splintered. He squealed. "I swear, I swear." The man sobbed. Piccolo spit on the floor and growled down at him, he let the chi go and the man's face drained of color as he slumped to the floor. 


	12. End is the Beginning is the End

Not quite three days later, the group of Earth's saviors stood in a semi- circle looking up at the speck in the atmosphere that was growing larger with each passing minute. Sweat rolled from Piccolo's temple down along his jaw, they were coming, and he didn't know how strong they were, but if at least one of them could break into the ship and start letting prisoners loose, all the better.  
Piccolo told the others of his plan and they said that Bulma could scan the ship and tell him where the prison cells were located but he shook his head and declined. The speck was now the size of a basketball and that was enough of a difference, the six of them leapt to meet them head on.  
Piccolo went directly for the back of the ship, firing chi blasts as the minions of the Eliokon began to fall from portals to meet the warriors that came to defend their planet. Piccolo drove his fist deep into the guts of the nearest, puncturing the armor and feeling his fist hit cool air as it exited his back. He shook the gurgling beast from his arm and swung at another.  
He charged a chi blast and aimed for the docking doors, blasting them in and followed the roiling fireball as it passed through the passageways. He stopped and looked around himself. He didn't recognized this spot but he felt a familiar chi somewhere close by and followed the twisting corridors until he nearly ran into the person he was tracking.  
Nate stood, gripping a guard by the neck in each hand as he snarled and Piccolo heard the vertebrate pop and he dropped them to the floor in heaps. Nate turned and looked at him before passing by him and leaping onto another pack of guards. "Nate, where is Negate?"  
The man looked up at him from his pile and stared at him in shock. "How do you know my name, stranger?" A fist caught his jaw and he growled, grabbing the man's head in his hands and twisting violently. When he looked back up at Piccolo his eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Negate?"  
A large mountain of a man came whooping down the corridor at Nate's back and Piccolo yelled at him to get down. Nate dropped to his knees and Piccolo let a shot of chi fly from his fingertips and pierce the man through his chest, catching three more guards that stood behind him. Nate stood, looked at him with a mixture of awe and suspicion before head butting a man in the face.  
"She's down that way, hopefully getting people free." Piccolo turned and began to sprint down the corridors, his antennae blown back from his face. "She's the short one! With the maniacal grin!" He heard Nate's voice echo from behind him.  
Piccolo clothes lined the nearest guard and stamped on his head, following the sound of frantic screaming. The galley was filled with people running back and forth, trying to find an exit or someplace to hide. Guards were beating down wave after wave of prisoners that rushed at them in steady flows, trampling some of their own. Piccolo searched frantically but couldn't see Negate anywhere. The ship rocked harshly, masses thrown into walls. Either the saiyajins had to break their way in, or the ship had just crash-landed on the planet.  
A low boom rumbled under his feet and Piccolo covered his face with his arms as the shrapnel of masticated walls blew in. Vegeta stood in the hole, golden hair flowing and an evil cackle sent guards scurrying over everyone trying to get away. Grabbing the closest, Vegeta broke them into pieces with the flick of his wrist and stopped the others with small bursts of chi. Piccolo dove from the room, racing along the halls and met Gohan beating a guard --Piccolo remembered breaking his wrist-into the wall, the surface buckling under the pressure.  
Piccolo ran, beating guards without merci and throwing them from his path as he began to search frantically for Negate. He remembered the first night, seeing the greasy guard as he kicked and beat at Negate without mercy. He saw the sickly man cowering in the darkness and grasped him by the neck, hauling up to full height. "You, where's the woman?"  
The man croaked, trying to squirm out of Piccolo's grip. Piccolo shook him and the man gurgled. He set the guard on his feet held him against the wall with one hand against the man's chest. "I won't ask you again."  
"You mean -00359? She's dead." The man began to laugh and Piccolo leaned heavily onto his arm and felt one of the man's ribs crack. He screamed and began to sob.  
"Don't lie to me!" Piccolo fumed, he began to build a layer of energy in his palm. The man squirmed as the heat began to sear into his skin.  
"I'm not I swear! I saw one of the guards beat her after releasing the prisoner's cuffs." Piccolo heaved on his weight and two more of the man's ribs splintered. He squealed. "I swear, I swear." The man sobbed. Piccolo spit on the floor and growled down at him, he let the chi go and the man's face drained of color as he slumped to the floor.  
  
The screaming had died and now hundreds of people were standing around Capsule Corps. land and huddling in small groups. The beaten were brought inside for treatment while those able to move on their own treated more superficial wounds on the others. Bulma came from inside, she was covered in sweat, dirt and blood. She wiped her forehead with a clean towel and leaned in the doorway looking at the prisoners that gazed around them with cow-eyed fear at their new freedom. Vegeta had retreated to the Gravity Room, his work done for the day. Goku and Gohan had helped her with much of the wounded, cauterizing wounds with small flames of chi and lugging around the larger people. Now that everyone had been taken care of however, they had returned home to explain to ChiChi why they had run off during breakfast and pray she left her frying pan on the sideboard. Piccolo wandered aimlessly through the group, he seemed to be sympathizing with some of the prisoners and was sitting under a tree with a small group of them nodding and talking quietly now and then. A large man stood from under the tree and limped his way over to Bulma. She noticed how deep the lines of his face where when he smiled -how amazingly straight his teeth were- and realized he must have been a great looking man years ago before hell found him. He shook her hand and Bulma was surprised at the strength and heavy calluses along his palm. "I wanted to thank you for all of the help you've given us. I know that with masses like this we are a burden on your house." Bulma shook her head, "It's no trouble. I've had a larger mass of stranger beings than you here." She smiled brightly, happy to be receiving praise. The man nodded and gave her hand a final squeeze before walking back to where the others sat. Piccolo was standing now and the man gave him a slap on the back. Piccolo told him something and his eyes grew big, he began to wipe furiously at his eyes. Bulma watched in shock as he sat down with a heavy thump and began to ball. Piccolo walked to her side, looking over the sea of people. She looked up at him and saw that something was wrong but held her tongue. "There aren't any short women in the medical unit are there?" Bulma gave a harsh laugh, "There are dozens upon dozens of women in the medical unit, want to be more specific?" Piccolo said nothing and began to walk away. "Piccolo wait." But he continued and leapt into the sky.  
  
Several days had passed and the dragon balls of earth were collected. Now the group of senshi stood over the glowing orbs and watched as the dragon leapt from them. Dende spoke quietly and quickly and the dragon's eyes glowed. The first wish granting all of the prisoner's home - those with homes left. The remainder turned out to be less than they had imagined roughly two dozen and they saw no reason to leave. The final wish remained and the dragon huffed but returned to his slumber As the other's left, Dende caught Piccolo before he returned to the waterfall. "Piccolo, how did you know that the ship was coming?" Piccolo looked down at him for a moment, "It was a vision.a really vivid one." "But why did--?" "The second wish on Namek. I knew that we'd need the dragon balls and wished them back into activation." Dende nodded and smiled kindly up at the elder. Piccolo gave him a wan smile and dropped from the Lookout. On his way home Gohan stopped him. "Hey Piccolo, Bulma wants to have a big 'saving the planet' party." He smiled at his mentor. "No thank you." Piccolo frowned and continued on his way. "But you have to come! It's because of you that we knew and saved all of those people!" Gohan glared at him. Piccolo let out a deep sigh and Gohan gave a whoop as they switched course and headed to Capsule Corps. When they arrived, tables of food were strewn all over the back lawn and Piccolo could already hear Goku giggling like a kid in a candy store with five dollars in his pocket. They landed and Gohan automatically began to mingle, heading for the nearest food table as well. Piccolo stood dejectedly to the side, watching as the group of people lounged and laughed. A peal of laughter from somewhere inside made his ears perk and he looked across the sea of faces more closely. When he swept the crowd and saw nothing he allowed himself to think he was only imagining. Besides, even if she were alive she wouldn't remember him, much like the rest of the prisoners he had encountered during his mental tryst. "Hey Piccolo!" Bulma waved at him from the far side of the garden and he walked slowly, avoiding the others as much as possible. When he stopped she was smiling brightly. "How do you like the party?" Piccolo shrugged. Bulma scowled at him with mock hurt. "It's for you, you big galoot. You saved a whole lot of people. You can at least enjoy my party!" Her false anger left her face and she handed him a glass of water. Piccolo took a drink and Bulma looked pacified. "Oh, speech time. Be right back." She bounded over to the podium to their left and Piccolo sighed, setting his glass on the closest table. "Thank you everyone for coming." Bulma beamed down at all of them, everyone clapped and someone in the back let out a shrill whistle, she giggled. Piccolo turned his back to them, ignoring the whoops and cheers. Someone tapped his arm and he grunted, stepping to the side to let them by. "Excuse me." Piccolo turned and looked down, startled. A pair of large chocolate eyes stared up at him. His mouth fell open to ask how but no sound came out. Her hair was combed out and cut properly, soft waves curling around at the ends. Jaunie smiled up at him. "Hi Beautiful." Piccolo smiled slowly, then realized that she had remembered who he was. "How-" "I'll tell you about it later." Jaunie grinned and tentatively touched his skin. "You're even more beautiful in person." Her cheeks tinted but she laughed as Piccolo's face flooded with violet hues. "You don't want to be here do you?" Piccolo was going to ask her how she knew but she shrugged and tapped her head. "It's what I do." Piccolo mulled it over a moment then grinned softly. "Come." He turned and walked toward Capsule Corps with Jaunie following closely behind.  
  
"And now I'd like to thank the man of the hour -or should I say Namek- Piccolo!" Bulma held her hand out, pointing to the spot that Piccolo had been standing only moments before. Everyone turned and murmured in puzzlement. Bulma put her hands to her hips and frowned. "Where did he go?"  
  
That's it folks. Simple. 


End file.
